A. Varsani

Widespread Horizontal Gene Transfer Among Animal Viruses

This study explores horizontal gene transfer among animal viruses by analyzing sequencing data, revealing chimeric structures and new viral groups.

Population ecology and potential biogeochemical impacts of ssDNA and dsDNA soil viruses along a permafrost thaw gradient

The paper analyzes ssDNA and dsDNA soil viruses along a permafrost thaw gradient to assess their ecological roles and biogeochemical impacts on carbon processing.

African army ants at the forefront of virome surveillance in a remote tropical forest

This study uses army ants to sample the virome of a remote tropical forest, revealing a diverse array of viral sequences from multiple taxa.

Treatment with anti-inflammatory viral serpin modulates immuno-thrombotic responses and improves outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infected mice

This study shows that PEGSerp-1 treatment reduces inflammation and improves outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infected mice by modulating immuno-thrombotic responses.

A novel lineage of polyomaviruses identified in bark scorpions

The paper identifies eight novel polyomaviruses in bark scorpions and shows evidence of host-virus co-evolution with arthropods and chordates.

Co-evolutionary analysis suggests a role for TLR9 in papillomavirus restriction

This study identifies TLR9 as a pattern recognition receptor involved in detecting papillomaviruses and shows co-evolution between papillomaviruses and their hosts.

Genomic Skimming and Nanopore Sequencing Uncover Cryptic Hybridization in One of World's Most Threatened Primates

The paper uses genomic skimming and nanopore sequencing to identify a cryptic hybrid marmoset with a C. aurita phenotype but C. penicillata mitochondrial lineage.

Predicting the zoonotic capacity of mammals to transmit SARS-CoV-2

This paper predicts the zoonotic capacity of over 5,000 mammals to transmit SARS-CoV-2 using machine learning, combining ecological traits and 3D protein interaction models.

VIRIDIC - a novel tool to calculate the intergenomic similarities of prokaryote-infecting viruses

VIRIDIC calculates intergenomic similarities between prokaryote-infecting viruses using a traditional algorithm, outperforming other tools in accuracy and handling distantly related phages.

Unveiling Crucivirus Diversity by Mining Metagenomic Data

This study identifies and characterizes 451 new crucivirus genomes and ten CP-encoding elements through metagenomic data analysis, revealing high sequence diversity and frequent recombination.

Discovery of several thousand highly diverse circular DNA viruses

The paper identifies and characterizes thousands of new circular DNA viruses from animal samples using a bioinformatics pipeline and artificial neural networks.

Genetic characterization of a recombinant myxoma virus leap into the Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis)

The paper reports a new Myxoma virus strain (MYXV Toledo) in Iberian hares, characterized by three disrupted genes and a recombinant region with novel poxviral genes.

crAssphage abundance and genomic selective pressure correlate with altered bacterial abundance in the fecal microbiota of South African mother-infant dyads

The paper investigates crAssphage transmission and genomic evolution in South African mother-infant dyads, finding evidence of vertical transmission and positive selection in phage genes correlated with bacterial abundance.